Probe into 'at risk' baby killing

An investigation is under way after a baby was killed by her father despite her family being monitored by two councils' social services.

Gary Allen, 25, admitted the manslaughter of his daughter Elisha in Bournmoor, County Durham, last year.

The five-month-old was classified as "at risk" before birth, when the family was living in Sunderland.

Two months before she was born the couple moved into the jurisdiction of County Durham Social Services.

Elisha died in hospital on 24 January last year three days after being admitted with head injuries.

Allen, of Torrens Road, Sunderland, killed his daughter during a "sudden loss of control", Newcastle Crown Court heard last year.

The baby's mother Claire Morton, 30, of Pinewood Avenue, Houghton-le-Spring, admitted causing or allowing the baby's death between August 2006 and January 2007.

Child protection experts in both Sunderland and Durham are conducting a Serious Case Review into whether more could have been done to prevent her death.

The couple, who split up three months after the death, are due to be sentenced on 1 August.